S2E18 Beyond The North Wind Chapter 18

Anna and her guides start the trek to Uektefjord.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Beyond the North Wind Chapter eighteen For a while there was only the crunch of crampons and ice hundreds of feet below them. The retreat of the glacier was back through the original U shaped valley it had created. Lars and Kristen showed Anna where the glacial arm had been last year, and now she saw bare rocks smoothed of any plant life and polished boulders that suggested waypoints. The air was warm, and after an hour's walking Anna became hotter and slower with each step. She paused to drink water from her bottle, while Lars and Kristen waited patiently before they carried on. They passed many crevasses and manholes, the blues deepening the further down they peered. The ascent was only a mild gradient, but Anna was weary with each crunching trudge forward. The warmth, the exertion, the excitement of rescuing Marco all had tired her out. Trudge, trudge, crunch, crunch, until she felt like a pack animal, a mule carrying supplies to remote hill farms. She looked up and saw the mountains ahead, and the icy tongue of the glacier widening into a snowy highway. Up on the plain where they could ski it would be easier, but now it was hard going. Kristen walked behind her as easy as a dancer, occasionally skipping forward to talk to Lars. Anna had never been that fit. Christan reminded her of Nina, her niece, quick, clever Nina who liked to dance. It was all about the flux of energy, she thought. The young take the energy from the old and tire them out, but the old watch the young, and it makes them feel young again. Emil would have told her that all life comes from the sun, from its energy for photosynthesis in plants, to the animals that eat the plants and the animals that eat the animals. A natural, healthy arrangement. Today the sun was too weak to dazzle, but it did ease her brow and soothe the pains in her knees. Five minutes ahead Lars stopped, and when Christan and Anna caught up they stood by his side. He pointed out an aret, a ridge between valleys. We go to the right. There's an observatory further on. It's an easy trip from then on. Where's the observatory? asked Anna. Beyond the start of the pass on the highest peak, Kristen pointed northwards. The peaks were hidden in fog. We'd better move, said Lars. His eyes locked with Anna's, and she was quite lost in their dazzling blue. How are you feeling? Kristen asked her. I'm not as fit as I was, but I'll be okay. She spotted something on the ice and picked it up. What is this? It's a geologist's hammer. My dad gave it to me, said Kristen. She picked it up. Thank you, it must have slipped out of my pocket. She turned it over in her hand. It's for tapping out fossils in rocks. They make good photographs. Lars, you carry it, I'm a klutz today. Lars took the hammer with a smile. She skipped back to her position behind Anna, who was even more aware of her age and Kristen's slender frame. She followed Lars as he walked ahead, trying to pick her feet up and match his long stride. A tortoise between two hairs. It would be a very boring trip for them. After an hour's walk as they climbed towards the plain, Lars called a halt, and they stopped for a water break. Anna pointed into the distance. Is that our mountain? Lars glanced up. No, that's Halder. We go up over Storpfield. It looks like a long way away. It's not that far to the observatory, said Lars. Then we drop down into the valley and head for Uctafjord. He helped Kristen back on with her rucksack. What have you got in there? It weighs a ton. My makeup bag. You don't wear makeup, you're pretty enough. Lars ran his hand through Kristen's golden hair and let the strands fall between his fingers. You never know I might meet a nice troll on the journey who needs charming. Lars looks at you, Kristen, as Emil looked at me full of tenderness and love. They moved on, stepping carefully over the ridges of ice piled up ahead. Each footfall was well placed and tested for solidity before stepping on. Once Lars' foot kicked open a pocket of air in the ice and the glacier yelped like a dog. Anna as the Tortoise took the last place in the race of three, and the two hares carried on their courting, Kristen prancing around Lars, who pretended not to notice. Anna stopped and peeled off her jacket and wrapped it around her waist. Lars and Kristen looked at her with dismay. The first rule of winter walking was to maintain several warm dry layers, and now their charge was behaving like a tourist rather than an experienced walker. They whispered amongst themselves What did you say? Your fleece will get wet if it rains. It's better if you keep your jacket over it. They were right, so she complied. Where are we? she asked. Closing on Storkfield, Christan said, pointing to a new peak now visible in the distance. In the middle is the virgin valley, Jomfraudlen. Yes, Lars said. Giant mountains and virgin valleys. And reindeer too, pointed Christon. The Sami are nearby, driving the herds from the coast back into the interior. We will pass above them soon. They admired the animals, their long dark brown bodies, the elaborate ornamentation on their heads, antlers seemingly carved out of wood. A few reindeers straggled behind, and one, its wide black eyes shining like opals, came close enough for Lars to touch. Kristen's camera word. She beckoned Anna to join her and Lars in a shop with the reindeer behind them. She showed the digital images to Anna. Have you noticed the shadows? They move sideways but not up and down. What a strange world. You have a good eye, she said. That's a nice camera. From my father, I take photos for the University magazine. A nice job as well. It is, said Kristen, the best job I've ever had. I love all this space. It helps you keep your head clear. Even with Lars about, smiled Anna. We're newly married, she blushed. Where will you go after Ucterfjord? To Nordcat, to see the puffin colony. Over a million birds scattered over a hundred islands. We're going to have a look and get some pictures. Oh yes, the puffins. I heard about them on the radio, she said. That's their breeding ground. They last for the summer and then they go back home, said Kristin. But there's more than just puffins, geese and eagles, scoers, cormorants. It's a fabulous sight. The birds fly in for many miles to make their nests. Nature at its best. Not quite, said Kristen. There are crabs, too, giant crabs. How big are these crabs? When you say giant, how giant? About this big. And Kristen opened her arms. I was in Runda last year in the south during the breeding season. So many birds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of them. Gannets, beautiful birds, huge with wings as long as this. She stretched her arms out wide. The Kitty Wakes are much smaller and very funny. I took many photographs. Kristen looked to Anna. What's Itafjord like? Lars liked it, but I've never been there. Anna knelt and fiddled the laces of her crampons. It's a pretty place, as pretty as any along the northwestern coast, but small enough for most ships to sail by, so it's not been spoilt. There's ice far out in the sea from the glacier, but it's oddly warm and pleasant. They say it has a white beach with sand. Anna walked on with Kristen next to her. Who are you visiting? Anna's thoughts were at the coast, and then it was Burgot walking with her along the beach. My sister, said Anna, and she tried to move people and houses in her mind so that her family were all together again.